the creature alliance - semi advanced discussion

Orchid wandered around the campus, coffee cup in hand. He had wanted to meet up with Azalea and Carnation around this time and he was early, it seemed. They sat on a bench and looked around at the beautiful surroundings. This was a bit of a difficult school to get in and it showed with its intricate architecture and well maintained garden. Suddenly, a tall spider ruined the image.
"Hello, Orchid," Carnation said and walked right up to his face in a few quick strides, pinching his cheek as if he were a baby.
"Stop," they mumbled and turned away, fluffy hair covering the small mark left. Orchid took a sip of his coffee, looking at the spot Azalea typically appeared from. Carnation also stared along with him, although something in his gaze was much more menacing.

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"HAH! I FOOLED YOU!" Azalea called from Carnation's shoulders. They felt so proud of themselves to of tricked Orchi, especially with something so simple. "Now I'm taller than you too!" They thought it was funny to be taller than both of them, considering how much shorter they are.
They quickly climbed off of Corn and would say, "Thank you for helping me trick Orchi, Corn!" while giggling a bit to themself about how clever it was to get on his shoulders. "How was your walk?" They weren't really sure what else Orchi had done, other than getting coffee, but asking about his walk would be the best bet.
They'd look behind them, making sure that nobody was following them and there didn't appear to be anybody. They couldn't see anybody, which slightly helped them feel at ease, although they still felt those familiar feelings of being watched.

Carnation grinned down at Orchid, who had nearly jumped fully out of the bench. The coffee had spilled droplets on his clothes. He was breathing a bit heavily and was completely red in the face.
"Don't scare me like that, Aza! I thought . . . well, I'm not sure what I thought," they said, recalling what just happened.
Carnation only rolled his eyes. "Just don't call me Corn. It's really pissing me off," he commented as he inspected his fingernails.
Once Orchid had recovered, they stood up and huffed. "Fine until you came." It was meant as a joke and all of them knew that he would never think something like that to be true. Even if Azalea was scaring him half to death, it was still a fond memory to look back on later.
Carnation noticed Azalea's paranoia and put a hand on their shoulder, which honestly wasn't covering very much considering his hand was rather big due to his size. "It's okay," he said in a comforting tone. His brother stiffened a bit, uncomfortable whenever he did things like that. It wasn't jealousy, more worry that he'd try something with Aza.

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They'd giggle at both things. "I'm going to keep calling you corn until one of us dies," they'd know that would be in a long time, considering carnation was strong and wouldn't let anything hurt them.
"I'm not going to be able to scare you like that again, dammit," they only now realized Orchi would likely look up to avoid it happening again, but Azalea knew they'd come up with another method, maybe hiding under the bench or something similar, but that would be long and maybe lonely.
"Thank you, Corn," They liked it when Carnation comforted them, it was kind and really helped with most situations. They noticed Orchi stiffening, although it confused them, what could be wrong with the situation that would cause that? They'd push it off and get on the bench next to Orchi. "I think I saw your weird ex on me and Corn's walk, but I didn't point her out to him," They'd whisper to Orchi, not as a way of excluding Carnation, but more of because they thought only Orchi would care.

Carnation suddenly brandished a knife and put it to Orchid's throat. "Well, I suppose that's today," he said as he made a quick motion with his arm, mimicking slicing his little brother's throat. He released his grip on Orchid and he looked up at Carnation with a bewildered look. "No!" was all he said a few seconds afterward.
Orchid gave a small smile. "Maybe I'll try scaring you." He did have the upper hand. They were very tall and many pointed and stared whenever they passed by, finding it terrifying to see a tall person bedecked in bones with multiple arms to be casually passing through town.
He bit his lip. Before Orchid could respond, Carnation's head was in between the two of them. The man had to bend over more than the average person just to get down to their sitting height and it looked like a spectacle to anyone passing by. "Hm, your ex is here? Come to stalk you?" Carnation smiled just a bit, finding it amusing that one girl could cause so much chaos. Then again, Azalea did impact a lot of his life, but he kept that private. Hyacinth was always in your face. You couldn't look at a magazine without seeing her face plastered all over it, advertising some new diet or dressing in gaudy fashion.
Orchid was visibly uncomfortable, though he didn't shut down Carnation as they didn't like to confront others. "Uh, I'm not sure. They're probably just visiting for some job . . ," they trailed off and stared at a bush ahead, not wanting to look anyone directly in the eyes.

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Azalea's eyes widened greatly, confused about what was going on and not really processing what was happening and all that would come out was, "Wait stop- Oh wait, you asshole." They'd laugh it off, although it was confusing to them, he did things like this often, it was fine.
They interpreted that as a challenge, "You won't be able to, I'll find a way to outsmart you." They knew Orchi likely would find a way, but it felt nice to say that they would win, even if they wouldn't. They'd trace a finger along Orchi's arm, thinking of possible ways he could try to scare them.
"Jesus Christ, I hate when you do that. I forget every time that you can do that," They quickly thought about plenty of secrets they only wanted to tell Orchid, but Corn did this exact thing and then he knew the secret, but he was a good person and didn't tell anybody, he just did it to know what the secret was. "I don't think she's here for Orchi either, but if she tries to hurt him I'll fight her!" They didn't seem like the type to be open to fighting people, but when it came to Orchi or Carnation they would, even though they can both easily fight their own fights.

Carnation giggled a little, finding Azalea's fear to be so cute. He didn't mind uncomfortable situations and only relished in them. He could go as far as his mortal body would take them, and to be honest, that could take him pretty far.
Orchid just nodded innocently, his smile growing wider. "Challenge accepted!" They jolted just a bit when Aza touched their arm, although they didn't pull away much to Carnation's annoyance.
"Enough flirting," he said, gagging dramatically and making a big show of looking away.
Carnation put a finger to his lips in mock consideration. "Hmm, maybe if you didn't call me a corn on the cob I'd stop listening in every now and then," he finally stated. That was a lie, he'd never stop listening in. He needed to know what was going on, especially since Orchid was a threat. He knew that they'd never ask Azalea out or anything, but he had to make sure everything was stable.
"I don't want you to get involved with her!" Orchid said, a scared look on his face as he put his hands up. Hyacinth could be a huge jerk when they were mad and they didn't want Azalea to have to face that. "She can be cruel. It'd be terrible if something bad happened to you." Out of anxiety he huddled more into himself, suddenly aware of all the people so close to him. Their breath. Germs.
Carnation nodded along. "Yes, it'd be better if you let us protect you instead. You're so small and tiny . . ," he said, for a moment losing his train of thought and just staring at their pretty hair.

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"WHAT, no this isn't flirting meanie," They were always caught off guard by stupid comments like those, but they had to put up with that, considering Carnation knows it makes them flustered and he finds that funny or something similar to that. "I don't think I'll stop calling you corn, even if that means you'll stop listening in on me and Orchi's secrets." They knew stuff like that kind of got under Carnation's skin, so they'd continue, "We have soooo many secrets you don't know about, isn't that right Orchi?"
"Okay, I won't approach her if you don't want me to," They still would fight them if they had to, from what they heard they could maybe take her. "Wow, really bringing me being shorter than average into this," They'd say, being jokingly offended. They'd realize Carnation was partially zoned out and took the chance to boop his nose, "Haha, I got you!" They had a habit of doing that on whenever they could and it was always funny to them, even if he didn't react to it majorly. "I'm only small because I'm a smaller species, but I'm cuter than other ones," it took them a moment to come up with the second part, but it seemed like something Carnation would say before doing what he just did.

Carnation gritted their teeth, not liking how close they were acting. It wasn't the secrets that bothered him seeing as he already knew it was just a bluff, although he didn't like it when they paired up. Earlier on their walk his heart had thrummed just imagining the look on Orchid's face when he saw the two of them had cooperated to scare him! How romantic!
Orchid, for a second, was about to say how he wasn't so sure about that, but then finally caught on and hurriedly stated, "Yes! Oh so many secrets! Like, uh, that one secret!" Yeah, they weren't the best at lying or coming up with things on the spot. They would much rather take their time to cultivate a story than to do it on the spot, making them quite the opposite to Carnation. Carnation hated planning for long term, always wanting to rush his ideas. For instance, eventually dating Azalea.
Orchid looked Aza in the eyes seriously. "She exercises a lot, too. Her magic is strong." He didn't add the reason they exercised so much. Sure, the modelling agency demanded quite a bit, although it was more of their eating disorder than anything.
He smiled a tiny bit. He could have added, No, I've got you, but stopped himself before it slipped off his tongue. "And you're prey for a lot of creatures. It'd be best if you don't go picking fights with a manic girl," he said, letting the offensive term out casually.

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"Yes, that one secret is very secretive and you'd be so jealous you don't know it, corn," they thought this was funny, it was fun when Orchi lied quickly and on the spot. "That secret is super secretive, even my stuffies don't know it," They told everything to their stuffies, which Carnation would likely know, but they weren't sure if he would, leading to them saying this.
They wouldn't be able to look Orchid back in the eyes, but they'd look a bit to the right to show they understood that they should be. "I promise I won't fight your ex unless she tries to fight me," they honestly would've done this, either way, they just wanted to avoid being separated from Orchi or Carnation. "Strong people are usually fun, I guess she's an exception unless she is fun," they honestly didn't remember too much about Hyacinth's personality, and they didn't care.
"Well, you're prey for praying mantises, and I'm not, meaning I'm stronger," They loved using flawed logic, mainly because they just found it funny to act so stupidly, but they honestly didn't believe that they're stronger than either of them. They'd already understood that they shouldn't go fighting Hyacinth, but they sometimes needed to be reminded of things, so it's understandable. They'd mess with their hair, slightly pulling their bangs up and showing their eyes. Their eyes darted around the background because they thought they saw something move, but it was just a branch.

Carnation found it was good whenever they talked to their stuffies as that was when they got the most information on how they were feeling in the moment. It allowed him to help Azalea when they were in need, He smiled to himself, feeling like such a savior.
Orchid nodded, although was still anxious as Hyacinth might do that if they were angry enough. "She can be fun, but maybe too much at times," he said. They didn't hate Hyacinth. In fact, they really just wanted the best for her, but they couldn't continue it any longer. Not unless she fixed her behavior. It made them a bit upset when Carnation and Aza would talk as if they were the worst person ever, but he didn't want to sound like he was still hung up on her.
Part of Carnation wanted to fight Azalea just to show just how strong they could be, although he was certain they already knew the two of them were stronger. He leaned in close to their face when he saw their eyes and stared into them, completely enamored. Vaguely he felt Orchid bonking him on the head and telling him that he was being weird, but those eyes were so freaking cute! They were close enough to Eskimo kiss.

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"I understand people being too fun, I knew somebody like that before . . ." They felt sad, but they knew they couldn't think about that. They shouldn't be sad here, they can be at home, but people watching will think they're weirder and more people will try to hurt them for that.
Azalea always thought it was so funny when Carnation did this, but they knew they couldn't do much or he might lose this funny reaction. "Boop," they giggled a bit, they booped Corn twice in less than 10 minutes. They thought that was a new record for a second, but they realized they had gotten him three times before.
A branch would crack and their head would quickly jerk in that direction, making sure it wasn't a person trying to hurt any of them. It wasn't, it was just a stray cat. "That's a cute kitty," they wanted to pet the kitty, but they didn't want to get up right now, this bench was really comfortable. The kitty ran away after a while, which caused Azalea to sigh an audible sigh, but they'd quickly recover. "Corn, did I give you my water bottle or did I leave it at home?" they just realized how thirsty they were, but they might have to push through it if they forgot their waterbottle.

Orchid nodded understandingly. Azalea had a bad history with friends and they were simply glad that they could be there for them. "Well, at least they're not here anymore, right?" he said and put on a big smile, wanting Aza to not be sad. They deserved a bunch of friends that weren't using them. He only wished he could help them with that.
Carnation had a small impulse to break Azalea's finger when they booped him, though they'd never do that. It wasn't that he was annoyed, but it'd be interesting to see their reaction. Instead Carnation chose to boop them back. "Boop," he said softly.
He was sad when Azalea looked away while Orchid was totally relieved.
"You need to stop just staring at them!" Orchid hissed and gripped his shoulder. In response he only shrugged slightly and smirked. They felt angry at their brother, wishing he could just be responsible for once and not so damn creepy.
He rummaged through his bag and found the water bottle. "Here," he said and handed it to them. They did enjoy keeping Azalea's stuff, though it wasn't as special when it was just a normal thing. He'd prefer one of their stuffies or favorite clothing.
A magazine flew in the breeze and landed right at Orchid's feet, practically an invitation for him to look. They peeked at the cover and gasped just a bit. The image had Hyacinth with the title "My ex emotionally abused me". He picked up the magazine and their brows furrowed, nails digging holes into the thin paper.

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"Yeah! You guys are all I need, you wouldn't hurt me!" they didn't need anybody else, and nobody else would want them, so they should just stick with Orchi and Corn. They pushed off those old thoughts, those people weren't cool enough for them. Those people would be scared of Orchid and Carnation. Those people aren't as cool as their friends.
"That was so cute, Corn!" they felt slightly flustered, Corn barely ever booped them back and whenever he did his voice was just so soft and perfect. They always liked it, his voice was very comforting when he booped them.
They kind of overheard what Orchi was saying, but they didn't want to butt in, considering that would be mean to Orchi if they were to say that it was okay with them. "Thank you Corn!" they drank some of the water, then set it down, next to them on the bench.
"What's on the magazine?" They'd ask, curious only because Orchi looked mad at it. They'd stand on the bench to peak over Orchi's shoulder. "Maybe it means a different ex? I don't think you would emotionally abuse anybody, you're too nice," they knew lying was always an option, but they weren't sure if Haycinthia would go that far with a lie.

Orchid nodded along, although they weren't so sure Carnation wouldn't harm Azalea. Sure, he was madly in love, although he could be violent toward anything if it didn't give him what he wanted. They suppressed a shudder and instead chose to scratch their wrists idly just to forget about all that stuff.
Carnation feigned sheepishness (haha get it) and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just returning the favor," he said quickly. Orchid eyes him suspiciously, but he just ignored his sibling. They had caught on, but there wasn't much they could do, was there?
Orchid sighed and set the magazine on their lap, turning to them. "Aza, I know it's me. And . . . I don't know. Hyacinth wouldn't do that . . . although they did have a lot of pressure to exaggerate truths. Also, she didn't take it well. She probably thought I was leading her on, which maybe could be construed as . . . abuse." The last part was lower than the rest. Hopefully their ex didn't mention his direct name. Orchid flipped to the page it was on, analyzing all of it.
Carnation snickered and said, "That looks like you all right. The way she's describing it just sounds like some heartbroken ex. I've had a few of those."

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"Oh my god, how are you being so fucking cute," they always liked these rare moments of Carnation seeming vulnerable and just overall cute. They wished it happened more often, but they had to realize that if that were to happen it would slightly drain how sweet of a moment it is. They quickly realized they needed to ask them if either of them had seen one of their stuffies, which just popped into their head and they didn't want to forget, "Wait! Do either of you know where Sally, my bee stuffie, is? I think I had her last time I slept with you Orchi, but I'm not sure if she's there."
"Oh, I could understand seeing it that way, but if it's exaggerating the truth that's a really mean thing to say, you're a really good person and that's not cool," They were trying to make their tone sound comforting, but it'd come out just quietly. They felt bad for Orchi, he wouldn't ever abuse anybody and they felt like something should be done to set it right, but they knew that likely wouldn't happen.
"I've never been in a relationship," they mentioned that fully on impulse, considering it had nothing to benefit to the conversation. "Sorry I didn't mean to say that," They felt bad, that would likely make Orchi mad at them for changing the subject like that to something so stupid. They covered their face out of a combination of embarrassment and feeling like a bad friend.

Orchid shook his head. "I haven't seen it," they said.
Carnation stated, "I think it got put in the laundry stack, your stuffed animal." In reality, he had 'borrowed' it, although he put it in the laundry room just in case Azaolea or Orchid wandered in his room.
Orchid didn't know about Carnation stealing Azalea's things, so they didn't take this bit of creepiness into account even though they were already suspicous.
Orchid looked downward again. "Yeah, but it'll die down eventually. Hyacinth can't be mad forever, can she?" he said, and the last bit was honestly a real question. It had been a few months, so by now they shouldn't be talking about it so much. At Azalea's next comment, he looked up and smiled. "It isn't all it's made out to be."
Carnation shook his head at Orchid. "You just have bad taste. All my partners have been hot as hell and easy to ditch."
When Azalea apologized, Orchid quickly added, "No, it's fine. I don't really think Hyacinth should be a constant topic, anyways. So . . . why are you saying it? Someone you like?" He grinned a little. Carnation leaned forward, quite interested as to what Azalea's response would be.

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They smiled, "Thank you, but I wonder how it got there." They assumed it was just one of those things where they picked it up and forgot they had ever moved it, although it really wasn't. They were glad Carnation was so good at keeping track of where their things were, it helped cancel out when they stupidly lost things.
"Well, I don't think so, staying mad at you is hard," they were telling the truth with that last bit, they don't get mad at Orchi a lot, but whenever they do it quickly fades because of how nice he is.
"Oh, alright, I understand," they felt relieved that he wasn't mad, which was stupid, considering he didn't really get mad. They felt slightly flustered when Orchi mentioned it and tried to say in their most calm voice, "Well, you guys are my only friends, but that Cloud person Carnation was with for a while was cute, I don't trust him though." They knew that wasn't what was being asked, but it'd help change the subject easily from whether they are interested in anybody or not.

Carnation raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Interesting indeed." Even if it had genuinely been put there on accident, he would have kept track of that. He paid attention to the littlest details, like how Azalea chewed on things when stressed or how Orchid would avoid surfaces due to their anxiety.
Orchid blushed a little and replied, "Thank you." Their fights were never lasted as in the end they still cared for each other. They couldn't recall Azalea's fights with Carnation and couldn't remember if they'd had any.
Carnation's hands tensed for a moment, although no one saw this. "Well, they weren't anything special. Besides, it'd be weird if you flirted with my . . ex." He didn't really view Claude as an ex, more of just some fling, although he felt like he might be judged by Azalea if he said that. "You should be interested in those who actually care about you. You know, the type that would protect you at all costs and love you unconditionally. Those are hard to come by."
Orchid nodded slowly. He said, "Yes, but be careful. People can mask their true intentions, although I'm pretty sure you know that. It would be good if you tried dating, though. It might help you learn to trust people again." They were worried that Azalea would shut their idea down, though, seeing as their disorder made it so hard to trust anybody. They just wanted Aza to be able to live in society and to go to parties and talk to people.
"Hm, to be honest, I'd stay in my comfort zone. Aren't those closest to you the best option? It's easy, too. Just date your best friend, you know? Obviously, only the hot ones," he said this and pointedly stared at Orchid. Clearly the two were having some odd argument, speaking about something that Azalea wouldn't understand.
Orchid shook his head. "You still have to talk to people somewhat. You can have close friends, but it's not practical. I stay in my comfort zone but I know when I have to talk to people. It's hard, but it's necessary."

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"It'd be funny to flirt with an ex of yours," they were glad to have the subject off of them. "Are you both trying to tell me to date you two?" they'd laugh, but they were confused, which was slightly evident by their titled head. They felt partially uncomfortable with the idea of dating somebody random, "Well, wouldn't I need to already trust somebody to date them? If I didn't who knows how bad of a person they could be, they could just take me down from the inside." They took a few deep breaths, not wanting either of them to worry about them feeling as though they're being watched.
"Both of you are hot, if this is still about me dating one of you," they were really confused, but they tried not to show it. "I'll work on talking to people . . . soon," they were fine talking to people sometimes, but they much preferred just to stay with Carnation and Orchid, considering those were the only two they could trust. They started to scratch their thigh, the deep breaths weren't helping, this would be the only thing that would help.

Carnation did not respond to Azalea's comment, hoping that by ignoring it the idea would go away entirely.
At their next question, at once one brother said 'Yes' and the other said 'No' in unison. The two looked at each other, with Carnation staring with the hint of a smirk and Orchid looking in horror.
Orchid nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes. But, like, a stranger that you become close to. That's all I meant."
Carnation gazed at a tree, preoccupied with some other thought. Casually, he said, "Strangers can manipulate you, Orchid."
Orchid blushed at being called hot. They didn't really think they were hot and mostly wore what they did to cover up just how disgusting they were. Every time they looked in the mirror all they could see were imperfections, like some sort of deformed monster.
Carnation grabbed the hand scratching their thigh, thumb circling their palm. "Don't do that," he whispered, crouching low so that he was their height. "Your skin is beautiful." His long lashes and now gentle eyes made his hard edges seem softer, blurred. Right now Carnation appeared comforting and was incredibly close, close enough that most people's hearts would start hammering.
Orchid didn't like how close he was getting, especially since they knew he didn't do this without some ulterior motive. He, too, made some effort to help and put their hand on Azalea's shoulder. "Yeah. Please think of . . some other way." Even though Carnation's actions were absolutely disgusting, he helped more than Orchid could. They felt so useless because all the things they wanted to say hadn't even worked for them. They couldn't just say 'stop scratching' when their hands were scabbed over from just that. They couldn't tell them to stop anything because of the callouses on his hands, the scars on his body, and so much more. Yet Carnation always said it like a spell and it made Azalea feel better. Envy prickled inside Orchid and they hated themself for it. Why couldn't they be like their brother? Charming and helpful.

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"I'll," they'd pause, "work becoming close to a stranger soon, even with that risk." They really didn't want to, but they knew both only wanted to best for them, even if it was expressed in different ways. They both always had majorly different ideas of how to help them, but they both always just wanted the best for them, they wanted them to be okay, to not have to be worried.
They felt more anxious from being caught, even though they were doing something incredibly obvious. The compliment caught them off-guard, they weren't sure how to respond to that, even though it was just a compliment from Carnation "H-huh," was all they could manage, they just weren't sure what happened, normally they'd like the compliment, but it confused them this time. They knew they'd probably end up looking back on this later and appreciating the compliment.
They still weren't fully sure about what had happened, but they snapped back to reality by Orchid's voice, "I'll . . . work on that, thank you Orchi." They realized Carnation might feel a bit left out, so they'd instinctually say, "A-and you Carnation."
They'd swing their head behind the bench, disguising it as a stim, but really it was them checking that nobody was behind them, "I love you guys." They really appreciated them, both of them always just wanted to help them and Azalea didn't thank them enough for it.

Orchid smiled and replied, "Just don't push it, Aza. I don't want you to get overwhelmed by this." If Azalea ended up hating them, they'd never forgive themself. They wanted their friend to just go with the flow, even if that was a bit of an unrealistic goal. Honestly, he hardly coped in social situations that weren't with his friends, although they were speaking as the person they wanted to be versus who they really were.
Carnation smiled sweetly and continued to hold their hand, this time interlocking fingers. "I've got you," he said. It was so cute to see them all confused and disoriented. Part of him urged him to go further, to see what kind of reaction they'd get if they did something else, but they had to be patient. But oh, it was so hard.
"T-thank you!" Orchid said, feeling quite embarrassed by this entire thing. Carnation had to butt in and make everything all awkward, didn't he?
Carnation smiled. "I love you, too."

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"I won't overdo it, I'll make sure one of you two are around when I do it," they really didn't want to, but they knew it'd make Orchid happy, so they had to do it. Maybe one day they'd be able to go to school events with them and feel comfortable just being there. They just wanted to make Orchi happy.
"I-I," they weren't sure what was happening and weren't sure of what to say, leading to their words sounding confused, "Thank you?" They didn't know what was really happening, but it slightly comforted them for some reason, they weren't really sure why, it just did, like how being with Orchi made the nights more manageable.
They were really embarrassed by Carnation's response and it made them incredibly flustered. They quickly covered their face, but their hands weren't big enough to cover their entire face, exposing a bit that they were blushing. "T-thank you both," they were too flustered to think of a response and that was the best they could really manage. They were scared Carnation would pull their hands down, so they'd hold them as tightly as possible to avoid them seeing how flustered they are.

Orchid felt so annoyed at Carnation for this. Why was he being like this? It gave them secondhand embarrassment, to be honest.
"You're welcome," Carnation replied, tongue circling his fangs. Orchid shook their head. Why would he be wanting a fling with Azalea? It would just ruin the friendship when he broke their heart, after all. This was just abusive. Orchid had to do something.
He smiled. "We both love you, just like in the way you love us," he said, shutting down Carnation's advances. They quickly patted Aza on the head, then scratched their wrists to avoid getting infected and then casually ruffled their head to avoid lice. "You deserve the world." They hadn't meant it to come out that way, but when they said it, they couldn't take it back. "I mean, of course you do! Anything for our best friend!"
Carnation inclined his head towards Orchid, brow arched. "Why do you have to emphasize we're friends when you get flustered? Are you, perhaps, jealous? Madly in love with Azalea? Sounds a bit creepy, if I'm being honest."
Clearly he was trying to get under Orchid's skin and it worked, with them clenching their fists and attempting to keep a neutral expression. They looked very cute, like a toddler being mad.

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Azalea noticed Carnations tongue movement, just this once and they found it interesting, it wasn't something they had seen him do often, but they may have just missed it. "Yeah, that's right," they nodded, thankful for Orchi shutting Carnation down, considering they were barely able to process what was happening. "You deserve the world more than I do," they'd say, playfully angry, not really understanding why Orchi quickly added the last part. They just thought Orchi was being a good friend and didn't want them to think they meant it in a weird way, but even without it, they wouldn't have thought that they meant it romantically.
"Well, maybe because their head is telling them that it sounds like flirting, even if it doesn't really," they were happy to be able to help Orchi out, considering they helped them out of getting much more flustered by Carnation doing even more things to them, but they knew deep down, they'd slightly like that. The last part of his sentence would just process, "I don't think that's it, maybe just they think I might interpret something wrong and then it'll get to my head, causing me to think of weird things."

When Carnation was excited, he'd usually do some seductive movement like that. It wasn't often he got excited, but whenever he was around Azalea it was more likely to happen. He just hadn't gone so far before. They were disappointed Orchid had to change the way this was going, although he could always wait until his brother was out of town.
Orchid shook his head and said, "Why would I be worth more? I mean, you have been through so much." To be honest, they didn't like to compare worth. Even though he felt worthless, he knew deep in his heart that they were all equal, unless they did something really bad. They weren't sure what Carnation was worth, seeing as they were extremely smart yet so terrible. They chose not to think about it, thinking it sad if they came to the conclusion that he was worth less. Besides, it didn't mean one should be treated differently. People were people.
Carnation had a much different viewpoint, although he didn't think about it too much as he considered it a way of life and simply fact. He pretended to think for a second, then replied, "Yes, they do tend to overthink."
Orchid blushed and said, "It wasn't that deep, but I just wanted you to know we're . . friends."

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Azalea got ready to argue, "Sure, I've been through some stuff, but you have to put up with more stuff daily than me," they'd pause, taking a breath in, "And I just think you're worth more than me." They viewed Orchi and Corn as more important than themself, but there weren't too many people to rank them along with. It was just them and Azalea's parents, but they barely ever saw them, considering how much they dislike their parents.
They smiled, "Yeah, they kind of do, but it's okay, I understand it." They thought they heard something move, but it wasn't anything and just resulted in them looking around, trying to find the source of the sound that didn't exist
"Oh, well, I know we're friends, silly! You're one of my best friends!" They'd say enthusiastically, even though that didn't really mean too much since Orchi is one of their only friends. They'd almost go to hug Orchi, but they'd catch themselves, "Can I hug you?" They've found that sometimes Orchid doesn't like being touched too much, but that was okay with them.

"Not really," Orchid said. That was a bit of a lie, though they didn't think that his struggles were really that much of an issue. They didn't have the stress of failing school and was honestly doing well, so it would just be ungrateful to complain about all of their mental problems. His eyes had a certain look to them, one similar to that of pain. They finally said, "Please don't think that. What would ever make you think that to be true?"
Carnation didn't overthink. He thought, and his thoughts were always correct. It was quite easy to simply talk with someone a bit and know how to mimic their personality, be the person that they'd want him to be.
Orchid didn't really want to do compulsions to get rid of the germs on Azalea, so they shook their head. "No, I'm sorry. I really do want to hug you," they said and blushed out of shame. They never really talked about why they avoided things, but this was why. The germs would crawl on them. He shuddered at the thought, then got anxious the thoughts were real and began to scratch to kill them off.

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"Hm, alright," Azalea didn't really believe them, but they didn't want to push any topics that Orchi didn't want to talk about since they were forced to do that a lot in their childhood and they hated it. The people who did that always forced them to talk about exactly what happened whenever they didn't want to do things and would simply make fun of them for being a coward or just being soft. "Well, just because you are more selfless than me, you let me sleep in the bed with you whenever I'm scared and I don't really repay you for that," they had just said something that had actually been bothering them for a while, considering it made them feel like quite a burden on Orchi.
"It's okay, that's why I asked, in case your body wouldn't allow you," they didn't really understand what was causing it in Orchi, but their own body often wouldn't allow them to enter rooms because the things watching them reside in there. "I can just give Corn a hug and we both pretend it's you!" they knew it was a stupid idea, but it made them feel better. "Is that okay with you Corn?" they'd ask, knowing he'd likely say yes, but it's best to ask, just to be safe

Orchid's blush only increased. "It's fine, really! You're not bothering me," they said. "I'm sure if I wanted to sleep in your bed you'd let me." His blush only get redder! That was so weird of him to say! Carnation gave him a sidelong glance, eyes judging them.
Orchid really hated Azalea's suggestion, but knew that Carnation would just accuse them of being jealous. "Sure," he said and forced a smile, although it was small so it didn't appear forced.
Carnation looked down at Azalea deliberately, amber eyes absorbed in their face. "Of course. You may hug me as much as you'd like, Azalea." It sounded so personal, too personal. Orchid didn't like it one bit.

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"Yeah, if you wanted to I'd say yes, you've got a fair point, but I still think that you're worth more than me," they believed that Orchi was worth more than themself and couldn't be convinced otherwise, no matter how many times they tried to convince them.
"Alright!" They were excited to have found a way to kind of hug Orchi, but it wasn't as personal. They were glad to be able to kind of hug Orchi, even if it was just Carnation.
Azalea looked up, but they moved their hair up to avoid any getting in their mouth, and in turn, exposed their eyes. "Thank you, I'll also hug you when you least expect it," they'd smile deviously, always liking to do silly little things like this because they found it fun. They'd stand on the bench to properly hug Carnation, but they only really hugged his chest, considering they were still way too short, even with the bench. They let go of the hug and kind of just laid on his chest, he was warm, it was nice. They could fall asleep right here, but they knew it wouldn't happen.

Orchid only looked a bit sad, finding it terrible that Azalea thought that.
Carnation couldn't stop the evil look in his eyes. He stared into their perfect, wonderful eyes. "Pretty eyes," he murmured. Carnation had the urge to say more although that was enough. He pet their floofy hair exictedly. He could do this all day, but only if he had more control. It was so difficult to remain still and calm. Orchid was eyeing him intensely, making sure he didn't go too far. Of course, that was all Carnation wanted to do.
"You're very warm. Us spiders don't have that type of blood in us. I wonder what your blood tastes like," Carnation said, already imagining the day they could get a taste. Orchid instantly was hugging Azalea from behind, already feeling the germs covering him. Anything to save them from their older brother.
"I think I can do it now," he whispered, heart hammering from everything going on. They'd have to pay for this later, although they couldn't let this continue on. Orchid's 6 arms wrapped around Azalea, keeping them warm despite his cold blood. The sweaters helped for sure. Carnation stepped back, a look of annoyance as he made a low noise.

(sorry about this alice would you remove the chats in my thread again, I'm sorry I keep asking this at random times, my minor ocd acts up at times likes this)

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Carnation really wasn't helping them feel strangely sleepy. Their eyes felt heavy, yet they weren't sleepy before. They really liked the head pats, that was a large upside of being friends with the tallest people. They'd giggle a bit, "My blood probably tastes like blood, I don't think they really have different flavors from what I know."
It took Azalea a moment to register what was happening, but once it was processed they weren't sure what to do, they didn't want to make Orchi more uncomfortable, but they couldn't really do much other than standing there. The church bell rang 9 times, marking it as 9 o'clock, which meant Azalea's first class of the day was taking place soon. "Shit, I'll see you guys after my class," they were upset that they had to leave so suddenly, but they partially came to expect it.

"Blood can taste different depending on the species," Carnation said, not elaborating at all on how he knew that.
Orchid pulled away as Azalea had to leave and the two just hung around for a bit.
Of course, Carnation was the first to leave. "See you," he called over his shoulder as he walked off. Honestly, Orchid had no idea where he was going. They stared off to where Azalea had gone and felt so embarrassed. He just couldn't have watched that any longer. It was so manipulative. They sighed and grabbed their bag, leaving the area.